I have a few questions bout them, All my pits swim but one just loves the treadmill.. I dont know how she came to like but she does, When she sees it she stand next to it till I turn it on.. She will be on it for a while.. But what I have noticed lately is that after shes done playing with it she has a slight limp.. I took her to my vet to get check out and he says thats shes perfect.. She is only 6 1/2 months old now and she developing alot of muscle for her age ( I think ).. But now she will swim with my oldest dog for bout 2 hours straight longest I seen was 3 and she comes out the water fine.. Does anyone know why she would limp for??? I'm thinking it could be her paws hurt after she gets done with it. I have been puting lotion on her feet. Anyone else have this problem?? If so what did u do bout it?? Im thinking of just putting it away.. I would also like to know could swimming have any affects on my dogs??

Running is a weight bearing exercie, swimming is not, so I'd let her swim extensively before I'd let her run. She's pretty young and nowhere near finished growing so if it were me, I'd lay off the treadmill for a while.

Long periods of running are hard on any dog, but one that is still growing probably shouldn't be exercising like that.

There is a big difference between running outside and running on a treadmill. Anyone using a treadmill (people or dogs) makes the same constent stride, whereas outside there is varying terrain, corners, hills, etc. My guess is the repetitive motion is causing her pain.

That's great she likes the treadmill 61/2 months is way too young for her to be running on it though. I wouldn't let my pup on until she was at least a year. Since she's obviously used to it and likes it so much perhaps you could just let her do a moderate walking pace for a couple minutes instead of a flat out run. Even older dogs should only run flat out for 10 minutes or less on it without a break. Do you have pics of your dogs? Would love to see them

untouchableBam wrote:shes always with me and I think its cause she seen me do it, she does everythin with me.. I'll just have to hide it from her.. Will the swimming affect both of my young ones..

Any prolonged exercise could be damaging to a puppy, but my guess is swimming is probably the safest to do a lot of. There is no impact on the joints so it is less punishing. However, the connective tissues are impacted by any movement at all, so even though your dog may be willing to swim for hours on end I would limit the time, or at least try to convince them to take breaks! (good luck on that one though!)

I cant get them to get out the water for anything... not even there favorite treat will get them out.. i have pics on my last pc but it broke.. i will take some of them... are there any methods i can use to make them come out of there..

untouchableBam wrote:I cant get them to get out the water for anything... not even there favorite treat will get them out.. i have pics on my last pc but it broke.. i will take some of them... are there any methods i can use to make them come out of there..

*laugh* good luck with that one!!! The lab I grew up with would swim until she was literally drwoning because she was so tired. Nothing would get her out short of hauling her out by the collar and tieing her... that or a boat ride!

Swimming is a more effective exercise. Same for people as well. Like Mn said, there isn't any pressure on the joints and their entire body is working for a great cardio workout.

6 1/2 months isn't to young to exercise them. Just not that much. Even on the mill, 3-5 minutes of walking is plenty for a young 6 month old pup.

I would restrict the amount of treadmill and swimming your pup does down to one or two times per week. Keeping the time on the mill down to 5 minutes maximum and the time in the water down to 15 minutes max.

As for getting them out of the water. Find something they like more than water, a toy, treat, anything and offer that to them ONLY when they get out of the water. Don't ever give it to them any other time. This will be a special treat or toy they only get when they get out of the water when you call them.

I've been thinking of doing some 'hydro-therapy' with Luna to help build up her 'ankle' or pastern muscles - After she had her splints on for a month the muscles were really weak and she was REALLY down on her pasterns when she walked.

She's a lot better now, but not 100% - I wonder if swimming would help...? It seems like working the muscles without having that downward push and weight on them (from supporting her body weight) would help... Any thoughts on this?

JaquelineC wrote:She's a lot better now, but not 100% - I wonder if swimming would help...? It seems like working the muscles without having that downward push and weight on them (from supporting her body weight) would help... Any thoughts on this?

Swimming would help for sure. Allowing the muscle to strengthen without any added pressure on the joint is extremely benefical to recovering from leg injuires. I have watched several horses (I live in KY) in special tanks that allow them to recover from leg problems without sacrficing muscle strength.

I would talk to a specialist about doing some hydro-therapy work and see what they say.

JaquelineC wrote:She's a lot better now, but not 100% - I wonder if swimming would help...? It seems like working the muscles without having that downward push and weight on them (from supporting her body weight) would help... Any thoughts on this?

I bet it would make a BIG difference. I had a cast on my leg for 4 weeks and swimming helped with the stiffness a lot.

Watchout. She shouldn't be running on there to long. That's how I injured my dog's knee. He got luxating patella from me being stupid and making him run like crazy on his treadmill. I'd wait atleast a year old for your dog to be running on it again. The joints are still growing. My dog's joints are still growing and he's over 1 yr old. Our vet showed us his xrays on where his joints are still developing.

I was warned by my vet not to take Sasha on more than 1 short trail ride a week when she was a pup. He told me to wait till she was at least 1 before she went on long ones and 18 months for the marathon 5-6 hour rides. If she wasn't afraid of water she could have done all the swimming she could stand HAHA!.